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Mad dog, mad-dogging

Posted by ESC on July 02, 2000

In Reply to: To do a mad dog posted by Véronique Gigot on July 02, 2000

: Dear All,
: who could help me understand the expression "to do a mad dog" in the following sentence: "Don't worry! I've got a great plan. We're going to do a mad dog. For the crack. Have you ever done it before?"
: Precision: context: Iris English; it has to do with two persons who plan to leave a restaurant without paying. Thank you very much for your help. Best regards. Véronique Gigot

"Mad-dog (verb) to glare at with hostility. 'Why the hell didn't he just say not to mad-dog someone?'.'He's just mad-dogging you. Like he's loco.'" From Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Volume 2, H-O by J.E. Lighter, Random House, New York, 1994.

"Mad dog syndrome - The capacity for unpredictable and dangerous actions. This term arose during the Gulf War, when it was applied to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein." From "Fighting Words: from War, Rebellion and Other Combative Capers" by Christine Ammer, NTC Publishing Group, Chicago, Ill., 1989, 1999.

Somewhere else, can't remember the book, I saw that "mad dog" also means a short, wild round of shooting.

This is a guess. Could "mad dogging" to skip out on a restaurant bill or other transaction mean acting crazy to scare the other party into letting you go? Or could it mean creating a diversion, like a fight, then skipping out on your bill?

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